Gendered Treatment Assessment
A Protocol for Women Who Have Sexually Offended

By Dawn Pflugradt, Bradley Allen, Megan Greene, Maricela Gamboa & Sarah Hoerl

Click here to view the Table of Contents and Introduction

Gendered Treatment Assessment is a valuable resource for mental health professionals conducting treatment needs assessments for women who have committed sexually motivated offenses. The protocol described here emphasizes the importance of a strengths-based and collaborative clinical interview and encourages the use of open-ended questions to gather relevant information in a supportive environment.

Numerous examples of the types of questions to ask clients are provided. These questions will help clinicians develop their own interview questions to fit their personal style.

This resource helps clinicians assess their clients in domains such as:

• intimacy and relationship issues
• cognitive processes
• emotional processes
• sexual dynamics
• social functioning
• personal history

A four-step assessment process is described in detail:

1. Reviewing Records: This step provides a general overview of the woman's offense characteristics and helps in understanding her offense pathway. Three such pathways are described.
2. Conducting Psychological Testing and a Clinical Interview: This step involves assessing each item in the domains listed above to determine which areas apply and/or would benefit from strengthening.
3. Considering Responsivity Factors: The assessment process takes into account responsivity factors based on the Risk-Need-Responsivity (RNR) principles. This involves matching individuals to interventions and services based on their unique characteristics, such as intellectual/learning abilities, physical/sensory functioning, and mental health needs.
4. Summarizing Information and Completing Assessment Form: The final step involves summarizing the information in a report and completing the treatment needs assessment form included at the end of the book. This enables clinicians to organize the information into a structured format and to consider modifying the form to address specific referral questions or meet the needs of their specific organizational or clinical settings.

Why A Gender-Based Assessment?

As the authors explain:

 “Gendered assessment is a person-centered treatment assessment model that considers how gender affects women’s patterns of criminal offending. Although both men and women experience same or similar social and physical environments, it is the social construct “gender” that often explains the differing manifestations of criminal behaviors.”

A Strengths-Based Approach

The strengths-based assessment methodology focuses on promoting positive self-esteem, identifying existing skills, and determining additional skills that can be developed to improve client’s lives.

An extensive list of references is provided. Gendered Treatment Assessment offers mental health professionals a comprehensive and practical guide for conducting gendered treatment needs assessments, drawing from both research and clinical experience to provide a valuable resource for understanding and addressing the complex needs of women who have committed sexually motivated offenses.